Welcome to Chez Robert Giron, a blog of random thoughts about life, books, art, film, music, and theatre.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Lockjaw by Holly Farris Is Released

Gival Press is pleased to announce the release of this debut collection of fiction which has been described as follows:

"Lockjaw sings with all the power of Appalachian storytelling—inventive language, unforgettable voices, narratives that take surprise hairpin turns—without ever romanticizing the region or leaning on stereotypes. Refreshing and passionate, these are stories of un-expected gestures, some brutal, some full of grace, and almost all acts of secret love."—Ann Pancake, author of Given Ground

"Holly Farris's prose ranges from elegant to gutsy, gentle to edgy, spare to lush. Her settings are evocative, and we come to care deeply about her characters. Each of these stories is like an entrancingly lyrical song, the kind you find yourself singing long after the music has stopped playing." — Janice Eidus, author of The War Of The Rosens

"...If you have Harriet Arnow, Lou Crabtree, Wilma Dykeman, Ann Pancake or Lee Smith on your shelves, it's time to make room for Holly Farris."—Gail Galloway Adams, West Virginia University

About the author:Holly Farris, an Appalachian who has worked as an autopsy assistant, restaurant baker, and beekeeper, graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize for her short fiction which has appeared in journals as diverse as Heritage, The Greensboro Review, Lodestar Quarterly, and Frontiers. Farris is the fifth generation of her family to live on their farm in the mountains of southwest Virginia.